Wedding Bells and Midnight Spells

by Sarina Dorie

  “Pleasure magic is addictive. I know. One can’t escape the Raven Court without extreme doses of pleasure or pain.” He massaged my shoulders. “If it’s something you want in the future, we can . . . experiment. I’m just glad he didn’t hurt you with pain magic.”

  I closed my eyes and inhaled his scent of dusty books and starlight.

  “Just so you know, I can still hear you,” Clyde said from somewhere nearby. “And I don’t want my virgin ears to be tainted by all your sex talk.”

  An hour after his nap, Clyde found a portal in the forest. I hadn’t ever been through a portal before, except the one through the woods outside Womby’s to the Morty Realm. That one looked like trees on one side and looked like trees on the other. The transition wasn’t noticeable between dimensions in that case.

  The passage Clyde led us through was less subtle and far flashier. A rainbow tunnel enclosed the path, spiraling around us fast, then slow, then fast again. The colors and dazzling lights were dizzying.

  “Keep your hands and anything else you want to keep within the path,” Clyde said.

  I stared in wonder at the beauty around us. “What happens if we don’t?”

  “You’d get sucked into another space or time.” He blew air through his lips. “Like the one with MTV.”

  “That’s this one,” I said. “In the Morty Realm, our dimension has MTV.”

  “If you say so,” he said. “I haven’t seen any MTV for a loooong time.”

  After we exited from the rainbow-fun tunnel, we came out into a forest. Four minutes later, we emerged onto Womby’s property. The sun was shining in the sky. It didn’t even look like it was noon yet.

  Clyde was kind enough to let us off at the front of the school.

  I was so tired I forgot myself. “Thanks for everything, Clyde.”

  “You just thanked me. Now you owe me a favor.” He winked at me. “Just so you know, I’m partial to horn jobs.”

  I stared at him blankly. “Huh?”

  I was so exhausted, it took me a second to register he was making a euphemism. Fortunately no students were around.

  “That will be all. You may take your leave,” Thatch said with a bow.

  I was sore from riding and sore from sex and sore from using magic. I trudged up the steps. It was daylight, but I was ready to go to bed.

  “Clarissa,” Clyde called after me. “You were Bart’s human. Take care of him and see to it he gets a proper burial. He let it be known amongst the Singing Stallions that if anything ever happened to him, his horn was to go to you. He said there was some spell you needed it for. Something to cure a friend’s curse.”

  I sucked in a breath. He meant for Derrick. I could have cured Derrick with a unicorn horn? The bitter irony of the situation didn’t escape me.

  Sorrow weighed me down, causing my knees to wobble. Thatch grabbed my arm and steadied me.

  Inside, a cluster of students loitered in the hall.

  “Miss Lawrence!” a girl squealed. “You’re back from your honeymoon! Where did you go?”

  I looked to Thatch. “Seriously. They know?”

  He shrugged in resignation. “I had nothing to do with that.”

  Students ran toward us. Thatch held up his hand. “Stop where you are. Give Miss Lawrence some space.”

  Maya Briggs giggled. “Isn’t it Mrs. Thatch now?”

  Thatch glowered. “Don’t you have classes to be in? I have detention slips in my pockets waiting to be handed out.”

  Students dispersed.

  “Is it Monday? Am I missing classes?” I asked.

  “Never you mind. The principal can worry about such things.” He placed an arm around my shoulder, something he would never have done publicly before we were married. “Do you want to go to your room or the dungeon?”

  His room had running water with a hot shower and a king-sized bed. Mine had no perks whatsoever. I didn’t want to get the smell of Derrick in his bed, though.

  “My room,” I said.

  He walked me to my room. I kicked off my shoes and fell into bed. He tucked me in.

  I squeezed his hand, not wanting him to leave yet. “Where are you going?” I asked. “Are you sleeping in your room?”

  His eyes drooped. Half circles under them contrasted with the stark paleness of his skin.

  “I wish to speak with Mr. Khaba and Mr. Dean first. They will need to know we’ve returned.” He kissed my forehead. “I’ll come to you when I’m finished.”

  I was asleep before he’d even closed the door. Dreams came to me quickly.

  Naturally, they were horrible.

  I saw myself killing Derrick again. I knew it was a dream, but being in that position hurt just as much as it had the first time I’d been there. Had that only been hours before?

  Using the lucid-dreaming techniques, I commanded the dream to halt. I removed myself from my body, viewing the scene from outside myself. I commanded the figures in the dream to part.

  I held the unicorn horn in my hand and touched it to Derrick as though it were a magic wand. He unfroze and smiled. “I am healed. It’s a miracle.”

  I used the horn to heal Vega. In my dream she was conveniently close by on the deck of the ship. I cured Pinky and Pro Ro.

  “Are you going to ask me if that’s a face under my turban or I’m just happy to see you?” Pro Ro asked.

  He lifted his turban and showed off Alouette Loraline’s face. She smiled and batted her eyelashes. She didn’t have teeth sharpened to points like I had dreamed before.

  The dream was farcically silly. Everyone laughed and made jokes. I made it happy. Even so, I couldn’t feel happy.

  I reached for a door to exit the dream. As always, the handle appeared when I willed it. The handle turned easily. I escaped to the stark landscape outside myself. I hovered above the barren hills, surveying the geology of dreamers who resembled fallen stars. There were only a few scattered across the land. That made sense considering it was day and few would be sleeping.

  I scanned the horizon, searching for a blue star twinkling out there somewhere. I rotated 360 degrees, but the land was void of a blue star. I couldn’t hold on to hope and pretend.

  Derrick was truly gone.

  Just below me, to the right of the open door to my subconscious, a red light blazed to life. The dreamer tasted of dusty books and starlight. I drifted downward to the door. The wood was red, not so different from mine. I didn’t even have to place my hand on the knob. The door opened.

  There stood Thatch.

  “Fancy meeting you here.” He held out his hand, and I took it.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Living Each Day Like It’s the Last

  I woke in the evening to find a cat batting at my nose. Thatch was curled up around me, his arms a sanctuary that kept me warm. The black cat meowed, sounding forlorn. I thought it might be Vega, but this wasn’t a slender feline. A corner of the ear was tattered, and the build was bulkier.

  “Lucifer?” I asked. What was my mom’s cat doing here? I didn’t see her in the room, but she had to be close by.

  The cat nudged my hand, and I stroked his fur.

  Thatch nuzzled closer, burying his face against my neck. Somehow he’d managed to fit on my bed. He didn’t wake as I slid out from under his arm, only rolled over. I showered in the women’s bathroom down the hall, the tepid water making me wish I had chosen sleeping in Thatch’s room.

  Thatch slept through me rummaging through my wardrobe and dressing. I had just missed dinner but managed to scrounge up two bowls of curry and rice from the kitchen. Unlike the old days when the school hadn’t been able to afford salt and spices, this curry was halfway decent. I wondered if my mom was around. It wouldn’t have surprised me if she had whipped up some cookies.

  If she was there, though, it seemed like she would have been in my room. Unless she was injured and healing. At Elric’s estate?

  Multiple groups of student
s stopped me in the hallway, nudging each other and giggling. Somehow they’d found out about the secret ceremony. No one brought up the steampunk pirates. I took that to be a good sign no one else had been injured.

  Imani hugged me when she saw me. “It’s a good thing you and Mr. Thatch got out for your honeymoon before any wicked fairies gave you any unwanted gifts.”

  “Right,” I said, trying not to sound as gloomy as I felt.

  “I think the flock of wereravens got here right after you left. Mr. Khaba and Prince Elric kicked their asses,” Hailey said. “You’re lucky you missed the commotion.”

  “Yep. We’re lucky.” I was too distracted to correct her language. “Did any students get hurt? Or snatched?”

  “All the kids were inside or at Lachlan Falls. The grounds were off-limits on Saturday,” Greenie said.

  “Is it wonderful to be married to the love of your life?” Maddy asked.

  The love of my life. My true love. I was conflicted. I wanted to believe Felix Thatch was my true love, but that also meant he might still die.

  Hailey rolled her eyes and made vomiting noises.

  I didn’t know how to answer Maddy’s question.

  “It’s too soon to tell.” I wasn’t even sure if I was officially married.

  They laughed, probably thinking I was making a joke.

  “Has anyone seen my fairy godmother?” I asked.

  No one had.

  They filled me in on how they’d spent their Monday. Not having enough teachers to cover classes, our acting principal had declared it was a study day. For breaks, Coach Kutchi and Jackie Frost headed up intramural sports and a dance at the end of the day.

  Students loved it.

  The bowls of curry were cold by the time I excused myself from my students. I ate at my desk in my dorm room while Thatch slept. He still hadn’t woken. He must not have slept for days. I left him the curry on the nightstand, but I didn’t know if he would eat it.

  I considered going to Khaba first, but I wanted to see if my mom was in the infirmary. Josie slept in a chair beside Pinky’s bed. He opened one eye as I approached. The other was covered with an eyepatch. Josie was fine, aside from a bandage across her forehead and her arm being in a sling.

  Pinky waved, looking weak and drugged.

  The sasquatch’s hand was covered with the brown, shaggy fur I was used to seeing on him, but above the wrist up to his shoulder he was hairless. His skin was pink like a baby’s.

  “What happened to you?” I asked.

  “Nurse Hilda’s ointment to heal broken bones.” He rolled his eyes.

  “Wow! Remind me to ask for that one when I need to wax my legs.”

  Josie woke at the sound of our voices. She threw her arms around me, asking me a million questions. When I inquired about my fairy godmother, she didn’t know.

  “I’ve been here for the last two days. I haven’t heard about anyone else,” she said.

  “So she wasn’t in here? She isn’t hurt?” I asked.

  I wanted her to say Mom was fine, but she didn’t. Dread built inside me.

  Josie would have kept me there forever if I had let her, but I had to see Khaba. He would tell me everything I needed to know.

  I found Felix Thatch sitting in the dean’s office when I arrived. Khaba rushed over, picking me up in a giant bear hug. “There you are, Mrs. Thatch. Your husband came here on your behalf, insisting you needed an additional day of rest. Personally, I think he just wants you all to himself so he can get his real honeymoon.” He winked at me.

  I turned to Thatch. “Are we married?”

  “I believe we are.”

  It didn’t feel like we were officially married, but then cheating on my groom with an ex-boyfriend to fuel my magic might have contributed to that.

  “In any case, the principal isn’t convinced it was a real marriage. He’s agreed you can live together on campus so long as you are officially married,” Khaba said. “But not in the newlywed cabin next to the greenhouses. The Lupis insisted they were discriminated against by the previous principal, and it wouldn’t be fair to give the hut to you instead of them.”

  As if I wanted to live in that shack after being attacked there.

  “I kept your rings safe for you.” Khaba patted his pocket. “And if you want, I can get the minister from Lachlan Falls. We could have him come in and do a wedding in front of the entire school. The students would love it.”

  “How did you know?” Thatch’s expression remained as apathetic as a teenager’s. “It’s been my life dream to hear Balthasar Llewelyn make farting noises at my wedding.”

  Khaba grinned. “You wouldn’t have to worry about music.”

  “Where is my mom?” I asked.

  The smile slipped from Khaba’s face. His eyes narrowed as he looked to Thatch. My husband was too busy examining an imaginary scuff on the floor to notice.

  “You didn’t tell her?” Khaba asked.

  “It wasn’t the right time.” He tilted his head to the side, something unspoken in the gesture being communicated to Khaba. “This is why I thought she would need an extra day.”

  “Is she dead?” I asked. Please, let her not be dead.

  Thatch held out his hand. I took it.

  He tugged me to his side. “We have no reason to believe your mum is dead.”

  “Why don’t you know for sure? Where is she? Is she with Elric? You said Elric would know.” My heart hammered in my chest. The beat was loud in my ears, almost drowning out my words.

  I wanted my mom to be with Elric. If she wasn’t dead, and she wasn’t with him, there was only one other possibility.

  “Elric said he would search for her.” Thatch swallowed. “Abigail Lawrence was abducted by the Raven Queen.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

  I wailed when I heard the news. My mom, the sweetest fairy godmother ever, the woman who had raised me, had been snatched by the evilest Fae in all the land.

  “No! She wasn’t. You’re wrong. She has to be with Vega and Elric.” I blubbered into Thatch’s hair.

  “We aren’t mistaken.”

  I should have grabbed her hand when chaos had broken loose. I should have made her stay with me. She was one of the least magical people at the school that day. She didn’t use her affinity in the Morty realm other than wards and cooking magic with her herbs. She didn’t know spells for defending herself. She would have been helpless against the Raven Court.

  “Has the Raven Queen asked for ransom?” I asked.

  “No,” Khaba said.

  “We have to get her. We can rescue her, right? Like you did for Derrick?” I looked to Thatch imploringly.

  “It would be folly. I no longer have safe passage as I did before I removed you from her care without her permission. And if I did, think about what she did with Derrick. The Raven Queen cursed him with a spell designed to control him. She made him hurt you. She will use Abigail Lawrence against you.”

  No, he was wrong. The Raven Queen hadn’t made Derrick hurt me. He had made himself do it to try to save me. It was the only thing he could think of to prevent the Raven Queen from torturing me and turning me evil.

  I pulled away. “So you’re just going to let her be tortured and drained?”

  “What other choice do we have?” Khaba said.

  “I’ll go to Elric and ask him to rescue her.” If the price was right, he’d do anything for me. He might even help me if the price wasn’t right. I would have felt guilty, but I didn’t have any room in my heart for more guilt.

  I touched the stones of the necklace. I could make it an official favor. I’d lose my soul in the process, but my fairy godmother would be free. Safe.

  Gently, Thatch took my fingers and removed them from the amulet.

  “Think about the position you would be putting Elric in,” Khaba said. “For one Fae to openly invade another stronghold would be for those t
wo courts to wage war. His father would have to disown him to prove he had been acting on his own accord rather than be put in the position to fight a war he couldn’t win.”

  “But we wouldn’t be invading their stronghold,” I said. “Elric could go to them and bargain with them like he did with Derrick.”

  Thatch stroked my back. “Do you think the Raven Queen will just let him walk into her court after the way they just battled here on the school grounds? After the way the Silver Court drove them off from capturing you not once but twice?”

  I looked to Khaba. “You’re a djinn. You must have some kind of magic that can handle this, right? You’re more powerful than any Fae.”

  “I am as strong as the Raven Queen, yes. Perhaps stronger.” His eyes were full of sorrow. “But I’m not strong enough to take on an entire court.”

  I fell back into sobbing. He was right. Elric couldn’t help me with this.

  “Clarissa, the Raven Queen won’t harm her. You have her word, remember?” Thatch hugged me. “The letter I sent the queen to prove the Princess of Lies and Truth deceived her was sufficient evidence. Odette promised you she wouldn’t harm your mum. She is safe for the moment.”

  Until mid-June. Assuming the Raven Queen kept her word. The bargain we’d made hadn’t kept her from crashing my wedding and attacking my friends.

  Neither Thatch nor Khaba would help me. Perhaps neither of them could.

  It would have to be me who went. I drew away from Thatch.

  I had to rescue her. She would have done anything for me.

  I would free my mom. Or die trying.

  This was probably how my life would end.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Till Death Do Us Part

  I needed the night to get my thoughts in order. My days were numbered. I had less than two months before my twenty-fifth birthday. Until that time, I planned on living my life to its fullest.

  And by fullest, that meant I would plan, train, and act. I intended to do everything I needed in order to be strong enough to fight the Raven Queen. I was the Red affinity. She couldn’t tolerate my magic. I would destroy her.